From thermoregulation to movement, cardiovascular physiology and personality

While ectotherms generally are dependent upon external heat sources, thermoregulation can be very precise in some species and contexts. For some species, conformity to the external temperatures is the rule. For those species that do thermoregulate, there is very little known about the costs of this behavior, nor is there a complete understanding of the contexts that drive thermoregulatory efforts. I present data from two turtle species that reveal the motivation for thermoregulation and show that costs can be quite divergent. These data further are analyzed to reveal individual differences in activity that provide insight into turtle personality. Using long term biologging of movement, activity, thermal and cardiac physiology, I provide an example of how to assess activity personality from a functional perspective.